Former England Rugby League player and current Sky Sports Presenter, Jon Wells presented Brackenfield pupils on Friday (10 March 2017) with Rainbow Warrior badges awarded for their fundraising achievements for The Rainbow Fund. Wells who made over 250 super league appearances, praised the children for supporting such a worthwhile cause, likening their donations to a stone being thrown into a pond, the ripple effect benefiting a wide range of people.
The Rainbow Fund is Brackenfield’s charity of the year and is a local charity that was founded last year to support the needs of the children’s departments of Harrogate hospital, children in our community, Springwater School for disabled children and Forest School. Any child who fundraises becomes a Rainbow Warrior and receives a bronze badge for their first fundraising project, silver for their second and Gold for their third. Following a school competition to design a badge, the winning design by Year 1 Thalia Richardson of Brackenfield School was used to produce the badges.
Together, the Rainbow Warriors at Brackenfield School have so far raised an amazing £2,031 which has been used to purchase specialist parent chairs so that parents of the tiniest babies can safely and comfortably hold their babies even if they are attached to wires and tubes.
Headteacher, Pat Sowa praised the children for their enterprise in fundraising through a wide range of activities from cake sales to busking: Our Rainbow Warriors have really embraced this charity and their aims. Since the charity helps local children directly, our pupils can fully understand and see where their fundraising is being spent. We are delighted that our Rainbow Warriors have already surpassed our initial target for the year and have managed to buy two of these vital chairs which are already being used. I would like to join with Jon Wells in congratulating all of our fundraisers for their wonderful achievements so far and look forward to more to come.
